The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel Reveals The Danger Of Online Sleuths
Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel reveals the danger of online sleuths. Here’s how a musician was wrongfully accused of murder.
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Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel reveals the danger of online sleuths. Now streaming on Netflix, Joe Berlinger’s four-part docuseries examines the 2013 death of Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian who mysteriously died at the titular downtown Los Angeles hotel. Crime Scene also tells the story of a Mexican musician who was wrongfully accused of murdering Lam by amateur detectives.
In Crime Scene, various interviewees offer their opinions on the infamous Cecil Hotel, and address popular conspiracy theories associated with the Lam case. The subject initially disappeared on January 31, 2013, this coming after hotel guests had complained about her behavior. A few days later, Lam’s naked body was found inside a water tank atop the Cecil Hotel. By mid-February 2013, the LAPD released security footage that shows Lam acting erratically inside a hotel elevator, which prompted numerous conspiracy theories about her fate. Some people believe that she was targeted by an unidentified killer, while others have theorized that she may have experienced a bad drug trip. Berlinger’s Netflix docuseries attempts to explain what went wrong, and reaches the conclusion that Lam accidentally drowned after suffering a manic episode, the result of not taking her prescribed medication.
Crime Scene takes an especially dark turn in the third episode, “Down in the Rabbit Hole.” As online sleuths investigate what might’ve happened to Lam, they come across an online musician known as “Morbid” who once stayed at the Cecil Hotel and posted dark videos online. Despite a lack of concrete evidence, Lam supporters lashed out at their target, which demonstrates the reactionary nature of the digital age blame game. Because Morbid looked guilty, and because people wanted him to be guilty, perception became facts – an unhealthy way to deal with conflict. In the fourth episode of the Netflix documentary, “The Hard Truth,” Pablo C. Vergara, otherwise known as Morbid, debunks the Lam murders theories and reveals that he attempted suicide because of constant online bullying.
According to Vergara, his music career was nearly destroyed because of his association with the Lam case. Crucially, he explains that his trip to the Cecil Hotel transpired a full year before Lam’s death, but online sleuths didn’t bother acknowledging that aspect of the case, nor did anyone apologize after the fact when it became evident that Lam had accidentally drowned. While some Netflix viewers may not approve of Vergara’s death metal content, the fact remains that creative freedom of expression is indeed important in a democratic society. If Morbid had more fame, then perhaps the online trolls would’ve spent more time sorting through the facts before sending messages of hate.
In a strange yet convenient twist, Netflix portrays Vergara as a random online musician from Mexico, when in fact he’s an accomplished filmmaker who received a scholarship from the New York Film Academy. The streaming service has produced a variety of high-profile serial killer documentaries in recent years, but it might be worth investing less time in the sensationalizing of storylines in favor of well-rounded backstories for interviewees and subjects. Docuseries always result in passionate responses from viewers, and Vergara’s experiences serve as a reminder that context is indeed key when interpreting true crime narratives.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/vanishing-cecil-hotel-online-sleuths-dangerous-mob/